Riu Lupita

Stayed at Riu Lupita 11th to 26th March 2026. Whe we arrived the checking in was good and as we we made our way to the room that had been allocated we were very disappointed as this room had two single beds and also double bunk beds. This room was dark and closterphobic with a non existent view just a wire perimeter fence.. I complained and was told that I would be reassigned to room 2830 the next morning. This room was much better it overlooked what is called the quiet swimming pool as there in fact three pools in the complex. The room contains a iron and board room safe double bed with balcony aircon coffee machine NO KETTLE minibar stocked daily with bottles of water Pepsi seven up and there are four spirit optics in the room containing gin vodka tequila and rum. The room had a good bathroom with a large walk in shower with hairdryer toiletries and clean towels replenished every day and the room was also cleaned each day. We stayed here on a all inclusive basis there is the main dining room serving a very good choice of all kinds of food there is a separate Italian restaurant a Mexican restaurant and also a off site steakhouse guests can eat at any of theese eateries although you must book to go to the steakhouse on the day you want to go. Good selection of drinks at the main bar with entertainment during the dayround the main pool and a variant of night time shows in the main bar area. Much more relaxing though round the quiet pool plenty of sunbeds here. The staff here are brilliant always smiling and happy to oblige the place is extremely clean although in my opinion the rooms are a little tired and I would say it it not 5 star as advertised when you see other Riu hotels in the area. The surrounding areas very nice lovely golf courses nearby couple of shops supermarket and pharmacy we felt safe walking around. Lupita has a separate beach about 15 minutes away a bus from the hotel will take you there's one every 15 minutes this beach has its own restaurant swimming pool loads of sunbeds. We had a pleasant stay here thanks to all the staff who made us feel very welcome.

On our first night after a booked trip with sunwing we had a 2hr shuttle, when we arrived late our room smelled of mold and it had a Crack in the door that let all the mosquitoes in and the beds were terribble in the family section. We wanted to leave and sunwing wanted to charge $6000 to switch to sister resort which was the cost of the entire trip with flights! The hotel did however upgrade for free to a villa which was much more comfortable. The food was good but not consistent, we ate at all the resteraunts and the Mexican was inedible we left our plates. Steak reservation difficult we did get in on last day. We liked that it was quiet and as other reviews mentioned mostly an older crowd but entertainment was decent. There is lots of wildlife it didn't bother us we enjoyed this. We booked for the kids club which was a huge disappointment a falling apart bird bath of a pool rusty old fence this area has really been neglected. We liked the beach club and were lucky to have some great beach days but wish they had better amenities such as indoor shower facilities. The shuttle ride was decent but does get full sometimes leaving only standing room it was nice to get dropped off and check out 5th Avenue. We made the most of this trip but I would not recommend or return to this place.. My daughter was sick and there is a hospital nearby private but after our insurance went through in about an hour they were quick to treat.

We stayed at the Riu Lupita in March 2026. The resort is small, but we really enjoyed it. The room we had overlooked the quiet pool. The balcony was nice and the maid came everyday and did a great job cleaning up. The fridge was filled with water, soft drinks and beer. We never felt short on water, which was great. The main activity pool was fairly large and a nice temperature. There is no swim up bar, but the main bar is very close. There are lots of activities at the pool. I played bingo a couple of times, and my husband participated in a cup stacking competition. It also had lots of room to just relax and chat with people. You had to catch a shuttle to the beach. It ran every 30 minutes and was always on time. The driver was fun and always gave you a fist bump when you got on. The shuttle would drop you at a stop near 5th avenue in Playa Del Carmen if you wanted to go into town, or take you to the beach. The beach was 15 minutes away. The beach had a restaurant, bar and a small pool. We spent most of our days there as we loved bobbing in the waves. The food was basic but good. I mostly ate tortilla chips, guacamole and salsa or a hamburger. The bar service at the resort was great. The bartenders always served people in order of when they arrived, and they made great drinks. I loved the iced coffee with Baileys. At the main bar at the resort, you could also get lattes and Americanos whenever you wanted. We ate at the Mexican restaurant, the Italian restaurant and the buffet. We liked the Italian better than the Mexican, but both were good. The buffet had a great variety. The resort had daily shows at 9:30pm. The Mexican show was the best one. The others were okay, but I have seen better shows at other resorts. The late night snack bar was actually a fridge of snacks and a microwave to heat them up. It seemed a little odd at first, but actually worked well. The ham and cheese burrito was my favourite. There was a disco open most nights at 11pm. It was back behind the quiet pool and never very busy. We had the most fun on Saturday night as there were more people there then. We felt they should have advertised the disco more as many people seemed unaware of its existence. Overall, the resort was a lot of fun and we would return to it. The staff were friendly and helpful, and I really appreciated how clean they kept everything.

We spent 12 days at Riu Lupita and despite a few issues we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The staff are friendly and accommodating, the rooms are clean, and the wildlife is amazing. We had a ground floor room near to the amenities ( due to my arthritic legs) and enjoyed sitting on the balcony watching the wildlife. Our particular favourite was the 'Big Ig', an Iguana who sat outside our balcony every day and just chilled. we saw some beautiful birds, a monkey, a couple of Agouti's, and numerous Coati's who were like a bunch of marauding scooter skins who roamed in packs to steal whatever they could get their hands on - very entertaining ..My wife saw a Monkey and a neighbour spotted a Deer which unfortunately we missed. There was also an occasional cockroach but that is only to be expected in such a humid location. The let down was the food.. it was ok for the first couple of days but went down hill rapidly. Do not eat at the specialty Mexican restaurant . The food is really poor quality and the beef not fit for consumption. On the plus side the starters and Salmon at the Italian are certainly worth a try but that can be hard to get in as it only has 30 covers. The main buffet got so bad we had to go into 5th Avenue on a couple of occasions to get something decent to eat. I would highly recommend La bodeguita del medio for Cuban food and music, the meatballs, Cuban chicken and rice is well cooked and you get a healthy portion. I would also recommend Pez Vela for superb Mexican food and really attentive staff. Fantastic Fajitas and not overpriced. One of the animation team recommended Karens restaurant on 5th Avenue for food and Mariachi - avoid like the plague. We spent £75 on food that was tepid and inedible and the waiter didn't flinch or inquire as to why we wanted it taken away after just one mouthful, as though it was a regular occurrence. When chilling at the hotel the main pool is good fun and plenty of sunbeds to choose from. The water is warm and the pool is cleaned daily. The staff at the bar are friendly and attentive, they will make whatever you request but at times you may have to wait to be served. You can access drinks and food if needed 24 hours a day as they have a fridge with burritos and burgers in for those with late night munchies. The music taste at the pool is either Latin pop or cheesey 80's pop which is great for a night out in Soho but not really cool enough for an old git like me to chill by a pool. Although they did play some Bob Marley one morning. The animation team work exceptionally hard to engage everyone there and due to current difficulties many Canadians who were headed to Cuba chose to relocate the Lupita, this increased their workload. The Canadians I engaged with with lovely people but some can be very loud - It was their spring break and they wanted to party, as would have I if I was 25 years younger but to be fair I chose the Lupita as a place to chill. We did try the beach one day but it is a bit of a trek and I sat at the sunbeds by the pool which led to my feet being swarmed by red ants which do bite so decided to give that a swerve. The entertainment in the evening is varied and at times really good. I enjoyed the Mariachi and Mexican history show. I also enjoyed the pop star show which kicked off with a cracking Elvis. Give the Michael Jackson show a miss for obvious reasons and the Queen show was a bit odd. I must give a big heads up for Marco the Tui rep. He went over and above to get me some heart medication (which I stupidly left at home) and is a genial and helpful man. A credit to Tui .. We did do a Catamaran trip to Isla Mujeres on the Tui boat Soprano. A superb boat, well fitted with sunbeds and bean bags . It has a great crew always filling your drinks and ensuring you enjoy the day. The down side is the 2 and half hours it takes to reach Cancun stopping at all the hotels in Playacar to people pick up. For those who vape I managed to get one in by keeping it in my pocket. I also bought a disposable vape from a street vendor on 5th Ave for 600 Pesos that lasted a good week and a half. All in all it was a good holiday and a positive first experience of Mexico. Would I return to Lupita ? Yes.. but not when it is Spring Break and I would take a packed lunch...

A small but everything u need in a resort .